COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A University of Missouri spokesman told ABC 17 News that its Columbia campus on Thursday had received a threat that was deemed to be “not credible.” Spokesman Christopher Ave wrote in an email to ABC 17 News that MU’s police department “received a forwarded call reporting a potential threat to campus. The
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman has pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic assault in her husband’s 2024 poisoning in Cole County. Sara Scheffer pleaded guilty on April 13. The plea became public on Thursday. She will be sentenced at 2:30 p.m. Monday, May 11. She was originally charged with attempted murder. Scheffer is accused of trying
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman has been charged after she allegedly pulled a gun out on someone on April 10 outside the McDonald’s on Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City. Tameka Whitfield, of Jefferson City, was charged on Wednesday with unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and second-degree assault. She was not in custody
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Cole County has sued a company over a July 24, 2023, diesel fuel spill that occurred in a creek near a farm south of Jefferson City. The county is accusing Neumayer Equipment Company, from St. Louis, of breach of contract and negligence. The lawsuit claims that the county hired Neumayer to install
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Former Fulton Assistant Fire Chief Todd Gray has accused the City of Fulton of age discrimination in a lawsuit that was filed on Wednesday in Callaway County. Court documents say that Gray was first a volunteer firefighter for eight years, beginning in 1994, before being hired full-time as a firefighter in April
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ASHLAND, Mo. (KMIZ) Gov. Mike Kehoe was in Ashland for the Southern Boone Economic Development Council’s Leader Breakfast Thursday morning. Several speakers from Boone County, Ashland and REDI gave updates from across the region. Kehoe was the keynote speaker in Thursday’s event. He discussed multiple points regarding economic development and the measures to eliminate the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) EDITOR’S NOTE: The date has been corrected. The Highway 54 ramp to westbound Interstate 70 in Kingdom City will close on Friday as part of a traffic shift, according to an April 16 press release from the Missouri Department of Transportation. The north outer road is expected to stay open throughout the
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Following testimonies from neighbors and her own children, 38-year-old murder suspect Heather Smith took to the witness stand Wednesday. Smith is accused of the 2025 deadly shooting of 37-year-old Kara Dills at Hunter Lane Apartments in April 2025. She claims the shooting was in self-defense. Smith faces charges of second-degree murder, child endangerment,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The minor accused of stabbing another youth Tuesday night in central Columbia is in custody, according to the Columbia Police Department. CPD responded to the 200 block of Unity Drive around 5:30 p.m. and found a juvenile victim with a non-life-threatening stab wound, according to the post. The minor was arrested for
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The Boone County Fire Protection District has announced Jake Heller will become the new bureau director of special operations and program manager of Missouri Task Force 1. BCFPD made the announcement in a Tuesday social media post. The post says Heller served with the Union Fire District for 16 years and has
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Editor’s note: Updated court documents identify the dog rescue as the nonprofit where Stafford worked. COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A woman has been charged with a felony after she was accused of stealing money from a Jefferson City animal rescue. Stacy Stafford was charged on Monday in Cole County with stealing more than $750. A criminal
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) The Royals are moving back to the inner city. On Wednesday, the team announced that it had partnered with Hallmark cards to bring a “world-class” ballpark and mixed-use developments to Crown Center. “Today is a narrative of community, of trust, of courage and vision, and a passion for doing something special
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Chinese national pleaded guilty on Tuesday to taking photographs of military equipment and installation without permission, according to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Justice. Qilin Wu, 35, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge. He was originally charged with a felony. He was accused of driving a minivan on Dec.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A vehicle and a Columbia Public Schools bus collided on Interstate 70 eastbound east of St. Charles Road on Wednesday. CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark said no students were on the bus. Boone County dispatchers sent out a public alert saying the road was likely blocked. Columbia Police are working the crash scene.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A Columbia doctor who was accused of sexual misconduct last fall has been charged in federal court. Dr. Jonathan Morris, who owns Columbia Urgent Care on North Providence Road, is charged with 15 counts of illegally prescribing drugs and 23 counts of health care fraud. He was indicted on April 8 and
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) A man who was charged with driving while intoxicated in a weekend crash that killed a man in Jefferson City is now charged with manslaughter. Prosecutors in Cole County filed an amended complaint on Wednesday that now charges Robert Roy Rackers Jr. with driving while intoxicated that caused the death of another,
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The date when the issue could appear on the ballot has been corrected. JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ) A resolution to put a measure to eliminate the income tax and allow new sales taxes will appear before voters in August or November. The Missouri House on Tuesday approved the measure with a 95-59 vote.
Continue Reading COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) One person was stabbed on Tuesday in central Columbia. Officers closed off Unity Drive, a short street in central Columbia in the middle of West Worley and Ash streets and McBaine Avenue and Oak Street. The victim was identified by police, but they are not publicly releasing identifying information at this moment,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) Officials have confirmed that a man who was hit by an allegedly inebriated driver on Sunday in Jefferson City has died. Richard Robben, 59, was on an electric bike when he was hit by Robert Roy Rackers Jr. in the 100 block of East Dunklin Drive after 5 p.m. Sunday. Rackers, 36,
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) The state presented more witness testimony Tuesday as the jury trial for a deadly 2025 Holts Summit shooting continues. This testimony included new information on both Smith’s retelling of events and the whereabouts of Dills’ gun following the shooting. A 12-person jury was picked Monday to decide the fate of 38-year-old Heather
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